Ventilated prefabricated metal storage building

ABSTRACT

A fabricated metal storage building of the type which is ventilated to preserve comestibles comprising at least two elongated fabricated metal building units disposed in an adjacent side-by-side relationship vented by means of a common plenum extending longitudinally thereof between the buildings.

United States Patent [1 1 Merson 1 Nov. 25, 1975 [54] VENTILATED PREFABRICATED METAL 2.335,!73 ll/l943 Corey 98/33 R STORAGE BUILDING 2,746,372 5/l956 Smith t i t. 98/33 A 2,363,606 12/1958 Tatsch 98/33 A [76] Inventor: Karol .I. Merson, I307 Crossfield 3.0 9 349 5 1963 Curran, |65/22 Bend, Mississauga, Ontario, 3,359,882 l2/l967 Givry 98/33 R Canada, L5G 3P5 22 Filed; Sept 20 1 74 Primary Examiner-William J. Wye

Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Fetherstonhaugh & Co. 211 Appl. 190.; 507,769

ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl. 98/33; 98/29; l65/22;

237/50 A fabricated metal storage building of the type which [Sl] Int. Cl. F24F 13/00 is vemllated to P comestibles comprising at [58] w of Search I I 98/33 R 33 A 165/22 least two elongated fabricated metal building units disposed in an adjacent side-by-side relationship vented [56] References Cited by means of a common plenum extending longitudi- UNITED STATES PATENTS nally thereof between the buildings. 1.870.329 8/1932 Happel 98/33 A 5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures X39 U s. .3 r i US. Patent Nov. 25, 1975 Sheet 1 of 2 3,921,508

FIG.

US. Patent N0v.25, 1975 Sheet20f2 3,921,508

VENTILATED PREFABRICATED METAL STORAGE BUILDING FIELD OF INVENTION This invention relates to fabricated metal storage buildings of the type which must be ventilated to preserve comestibles. In particular. this invention relates to ventilated fabricated metal storage buildings wherein ventilating air is directed into the building from a low level plenum extending longitudinally of the building and withdrawn from the building at one end thereof at a higher level.

PRIOR ART It is well known that in order to store comestibles. such as potatoes and the like. in fabricated buildings, it is necessary to provide a constant air circulation. It is common practice to store comestibles in fabricated metal buildings of the type which may be assembled in situ to any required length. The storage capacity per foot length of standard width fabricated metal storage building has been determined. Storage capacity of the conventional arcuate shaped fabricated metal building may be increased by increasing the length of the building or by increasing the width ofthe building. When the length of a building is increased, the cost per additional foot length is directly proportional to the standard length of the building. In contrast, in order to increase the capacity by increasing the width of the building. the increased cost is a function of the square of the diameter of the arcuate section of the building. It is, therefore, much more costly to increase the storage capacity by increasing the width ofthe arcuate span of the building and. consequently. the normal practice which is followed is to increase the storage capacity by increasing the length of the building. If the length of the building is increased. it becomes more difficult to gain access to produce which is stored centrally of the length of the building. Access to the stored commodity is important because from time to time it is necessary to remove portions of the load according to batch specifications and sales requirements. It follows that the shorter the overall length of the building. the easier it is to obtain access to any particular portion of the building from the ends ofthe building. On the other hand, the shorter the building the wider it must be in order to provide the required storage space and, consequently. it is more costly per square foot of storage space. Accessibility is usually sacrificed in favour of cost reduction so the majority of these storage buildings obtain their storage space by reason of their length.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION The present invention overcomes the difficulties of the prior art described above and provides the cost ad vantages to be derived from maintaining the width of the storage buildings to a minimum and avoiding the difficulties arising from increasing the overall length of the buildings in order to achieve the required storage space. These difficulties are overcome according to the present invention by arranging two buildings in a sidebyside relationship and providing a common ventilating air plenum extending longitudinally between the buildings and a single air circulating system.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a fabricated metal storage building of the type which is ventilated to preserve comestibles comprises and air circulating means is provided for circulating air through said ventilating plenum and each of said buildings.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The invention will be more clearly understood after reference to the following detailed specification read in conjunction with the drawings wherein FIG. 1 is a pictorial front view of a fabricated build ing according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the building of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional end. view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detailed view of a portion of the plenum structure of FIG. 3.

With reference to the drawings, reference numeral 10 refers generally to a fabricated building according to an embodiment of the present invention. The building 10 consists of two elongated fabricated metal building units 12 disposed in an adjacent side-by-side spaced relationship having a common ventilating plenum l4 disposed therebetween and extending longitudinally thereof. A plurality of ventilating passages 16 open from the plenum 14 into each building unit I2 at longitudinally spaced intervals along the length thereof. The air circulation through the plenum is by means of fans 18 which direct air from a fan chamber 20 into the pienum 14 which then passes through the ventilating. pas sages 16 into each building. Air is withdrawn from each building and returned to the fan chamber 20 by means of return air conduit 22 which is provided with suitable air Iouvers to control the return flow of air.

In order to maintain a substantially uniform flow of circulating air along the length of the buildings, the top wall 24 of the plenum 14 is downwardly inclined in a direction away from the fan chamber 20 so as to reduce the cross-sectional area of the plenum chamber. This has the further advantage that it assists the runoff of water and snow which prevents overloading of the structure.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 and 4 of the drawings, the plenum 14 is formed by forming a poured concrete structure which includes a base wall 26 and a pair ofoppositely disposed side walls 28. The side walls 28 have passages 16 formed therein. The upper wall 24 of the plenum includes transverse beams 30 which are cast in the side walls 28. The upper surface of the upper wall of the plenum is formed by a plurality of galvanized sheet metal panels 32 which are secured to one another and to the beams 24 by means of locking screws 34. The side walls 28 form a portion of the side wall of the building. The fabricated metal portion of the side wall of the building is secured to the poured concrete structure by means of a U-shaped channel member 36 which is secured to the concrete side walls 28 by means of anchor bolts 38 and to the fabricated metal wall 40 by means of locking bolts 42.

A conventional cat-walk 44 depends from the upper end of the wall of the building.

Various modifications of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, a common air plenum may be provided by simply securing an upper wall structure 24 between the metal side walls of conventional buildings without the provision of a poured concrete base or side walls.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present invention provides a system whereby the increase in storage space of a building may be proportional to the length of the building without the disadvantages of extremely long buildings and without having to provide two separate ventilation systems for two separate buildings. By utilizing a common ventilation system for two buildings arranged in side-by-side relationship, it is possible to obtain the required floor space, while retaining the accessibility to the produce by maintaining the length of each building unit to a minimum without the necessity of increasing the width of the span of the building. These and other advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

l. A fabricated metal storage building of the type which is ventilated to preserve comestibles comprising a. at least two elongated fabricated metal building units disposed in an adjacent side-by-side spaced relationship,

b. ventilating plenum means disposed between said building units and extending longitudinally thereof,

c. ventilating passage means opening from said plenum means into each of said building units at longitudinally spaced intervals along the length thereof whereby ventilation of each building unit is provided by way of said ventilating plenum means,

d. means for circulating air through said ventilation plenum and each of said building units,

e. said ventilating plenum means comprising an upper wall member extending transversely between and secured to adjacent side walls of said building units, said upper wall being spaced above the level of the ground between adjacent buildings and cooperating with said side walls to form said ventilating plenum.

2. A fabricated metal storage building as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means for circulating air through said ventilating passage means includes fan means disposed at one end of said plenum chamber.

3. A fabricated metal storage building as claimed in claim 1 wherein said upper wall of said plenum is downwardly inclined in a direction away from said one end of said plenum chamber.

4. A fabricated metal storage building as claimed in claim 2 wherein said fan means is disposed within a fan enclosure at one end of said plenum chamber, said fan enclosure opening into said plenum chamber, and return air conduit means communicating directly between each building and said fan enclosure for withdrawing air from said buildings and recirculating the air to said fan enclosure.

5. A fabricated sheet metal storage building of the type which is ventilated to preserve comestibles comprising a. at least two arcuate shaped longitudinally elongated fabricated metal building units disposed in a side-by-side relationship whereby a channel is formed between adjacent side walls of the building units,

b. a transverse wall member extending laterally between said adjacent side walls over the longitudinal extent of said building units, said transverse wall being disposed above ground level and closing the upper end of said channel and cooperating with said adjacent side walls to define a ventilating plenum enclosure extending longitudinally of said building units,

. ventilating passage means opening from said plenum into each of said buildings at longitudinally spaced intervals along the length thereof whereby ventilation of each building unit is provided by way of a single ventilating plenum, and

d. means for circulating air through said ventilating plenum and each of said building units.

it i ik 

1. A fabricated metal storage building of the type which is ventilated to preserve comestibles comprising a. at least two elongated fabricated metal building units disposed in an adjacent side-by-side spaced relationship, b. ventilating plenum means disposed between said building units and extending longitudinally thereof, c. ventilating passage means opening from said plenum means into each of said building units at longitudinally spaced intervals along the length thereof whereby ventilation of each building unit is provided by way of said ventilating plenum means, d. means for circulating air through said ventilation plenum and each of said building units, e. said ventilating plenum means comprising an upper wall member extending transversely between and secured to adjacent side walls of said building units, said upper wall being spaced above the level of the ground between adjacent buildings and co-operating with said side walls to form said ventilating plenum.
 2. A fabricated metal storage building as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means for circulating air through said ventilating passage means includes fan means disposed at one end of said plenum chamber.
 3. A fabricated metal storage building as claimed in claim 1 wherein said upper wall of said plenum is downwardly inclined in a direction away from said one end of said plenum chamber.
 4. A fabricated metal storage building as claimed in claim 2 wherein said fan means is disposed within a fan enclosure at one end of said plenum chamber, said fan enclosure opening into said plenum chamber, and return air conduit means communicating directly between each building and said fan enclosure for withdrawing air from said buildings and recirculating the air to said fan enclosure.
 5. A fabricated sheet metal storage building of the type which is ventilated to preserve comestibles comprising a. at least two arcuate shaped longitudinally elongated fabricated metal building units disposed in a side-by-side relationship whereby a channel is formed between adjacent side walls of the building units, b. a transverse wall member extending laterally between said adjacent side walls over the longitudinal extent of said building units, said transverse wall being disposed above ground level and closing the upper end of said channel and cooperating with said adjacent side walls to define a ventilating plenum enclosure extending longitudinally of said building units, c. ventilating passage means opening from said plenum into each of said buildings at longitudinally spaced intervals along the length thereof whereby ventilation of each building unit is provided by way of a single ventilating plenum, and d. means for circulating air through said ventilating plenum and each of said building units. 